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GoRuck Birmingham — GORUCK Light Class 1380

A few weeks ago I participated in my first GORUCK event. I chose the easiest one as my first – the GORUCK Light (now called Basic). We covered about 5 miles in 4.5 hours.

I made this decision back in January and never planned to prepare specifically for it. I exercise 5 days/week and each spring I train for and participate in my brother’s memorial birthday walk. This year it was 35 continuous miles. Therefore, I didn’t train any differently than I normally do.

Looking back, should I have prepared? What gear did I use? And what would I change?

Let’s face it, if you are relatively active, this won’t be a problem. It’s more about camaraderie and teamwork. We had a great group of 23 folks. We even got a short tour of Sloss Furnace.

I’m going to answer a few question that I had before doing it.

Do we need our own team? No. The entire group is the team. Show up by yourself or already knowing someone. Either way, you’ll make new friends and you all have the same goal to finish.
Who determines the team weight? A Facebook page will be created for your event. Participants can decide on what to use and who will bring it, along with one USA flag that will be carried the entire event. Many on our team consisted of people from Red Mountain Ruck Crew. They were very welcoming and helpful to those of us who’d never done this event before. They also provided the team weight.

Gear:

I have the GR2 backpack, which I highly recommend due to the quality and comfort on my back while carrying heavy weight. But, this is definitely not required for the GORUCK Light event. You can get by with any comfortable pack.

The temp was in the 50’s, so I wore a couple layers. I used Mad Grip gloves for part of the event (carrying watermelons and lifting railroad crossties). I’m a large, but these come in L-XL, so the fingers are a little longer than I’d prefer, but they were just fine. Other people seem to like Mechanix Gloves.

For food, I put a granola bar and string cheese in my pocket and was glad to have them. I brought an extra bar and shared with a friend. I think he was thankful b/c he thought he wouldn’t need anything during the event.

For socks and shoes, you can refer to this post.

Here is all the gear in my pack. GORUCK tells you what to bring – I’d bring everything they suggest. The cadre may be a stickler and want you to have everything exactly as he posts on the FB page beforehand (i.e. spare batteries, cash, phone case, name on ruck plate, etc).

Goruck light pack

goruck light-2 Basically, just do whatever the cadre asks. Follow all traffic laws. The push-ups, air squats and bear crawls were easy. However, the flutter kicks were tough. I couldn’t keep up and pretty sure most in our group couldn’t. We finished up on them. But, no two events are the same, so there are infinite exercises the cadre could choose.

Would I change anything if I did it again? No, the Light isn’t anything to sweat about. Just prepare if there will be extreme temperatures. Since ours was in the 50’s and maybe 40’s by the end, it wasn’t bad. If it had have been warm, I would’ve needed a bigger water bladder.

If you’ve never walked/rucked with weight on your back, then you probably need to do that before the event – for your body and to test out your gear. Never show up to any even with untested gear (especially backpack, shoes, socks).

It’s a unique event and I recommend doing it. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.

After Mark’s death, I organized an annual memorial birthday walk. This event would serve two purposes:

To raise money for Mark’s foundation
Put myself thru some pain to honor Mark and his sacrifice

So, it’s that time of year again that I’m training to walk a continuous 35 miles. Many people have said to me over the years, “I think I’m gonna walk with you.” I really appreciate it, but most people don’t realize the toll on their body and feet. Sounds easy to just walk. But, think again. If you don’t train, you will regret it. I don’t care if you’re an avid runner, CrossFit-er, or how good of shape you’re in, this is different. I will admit there are a very few people I’ve seen just show up and walk, without painful injuries. You don’t want your feet looking like the picture above–he didn’t last. This was a few years ago after about 11 miles.

There are only a few tips I can share for preparing for this walk:

Train, Train, and Train.
Get the right shoes and socks

Beginning in Feb/Mar, I walk every Saturday morning. I increase my mileage each week and wear the shoes, socks, pants, and backpack that I will wear for the actual event in May. And since the weather is getting warmer, I start going barefoot more often to harden up my feet. It’s important to get your feet prepared. I’ve seen too many people regret doing the walk–even after four miles–because they didn’t train. Some of them are tough guys and they think they can slip on some sneakers and walk. Trust me, this normally doesn’t work out too well.

Since Mark’s walk is mostly on paved roads, all my training is on pavement. The terrain in Haleyville, where the walk is held, is hilly so I train with hills. I also like to ruck with a weight plate in my GR2 backpack early on, then as the miles get higher, I remove the weight.

For shoes, I like to use hiking boots. I’ve used Scarpa and La Sportiva brands. I like the latter best. They are wider and lace up faster. However, the Scarpa are pretty comfortable and very durable, they are just narrower and lace up higher than I need for this event. Wear whatever shoes you want, just train beforehand. There are some people who prefer tennis shoes/sneakers, but just because they are soft and are great for around town, doesn’t mean your feet will like them after several continuous miles.

*Update: I started using GORUCK Macv-1 boots, then moved to GORUCK Ballistic Trainers. As-of late 2023, I’m training with the new GORUCK Rough Runners. I’ll determine if I’ll stick with them or the Ballistic Trainers. Regardless, all the footwear from GORUCK is built for rucking long distances in any terrain.

For socks, I only use Smartwool Trekking (and have recently started to slowly implement Vermont Darn Tough hike/trek. Be aware these specific Smartwool’s are thicker than the Vermont hike/trek). When I get over about seven miles, I change my socks. I also apply some talc powder/Gold Bond directly to my feet to help keep them dry. Even if my feet feel good, I normally go ahead and change to a fresh pair of socks. For the actual event, I change at each rest stop, which is every 4-7 miles. Some years, I’ve opted not to change at the last stop b/c my feet feel good and there’s only 4 miles left.

There are other variables that are good to prepare for like rain, heat, cold, hydration, blisters, and chaffing. We’ve had temps in the 40’s and raining to sunny and 80’s, with high humidity. If you want to use a bladder system for hydration, train with it. The day of the walk isn’t a good time to have to adjust your gear or find out it’s just not doing what you wanted.

Training for the walk is very time consuming. It’s also a great workout, especially with added weight. In addition, it’s a great time to listen to music, podcasts, or just enjoy the sounds of nature, mingled with cars driving by giving suspicious looks.

For more info on present and past walks, visit Mark’s site here.

For my GORUCK gear reviews, visit my YouTube Channel here.

GORUCK Light Challenge review – Birmingham

Training to walk 35 Continuous Miles